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1 + 1 = X

06 Mar 2018

Erased Tapes rounds off a jubilant year of tenth anniversary celebrations with a very special release, 1+1=X, a set of exclusive music from every artist on the label. Featuring never before heard tracks from Nils Frahm, Kiasmos and A Winged Victory For The Sullenand many more, 1+1=X sees Erased Tapes artists come together to make an album as a collective. Sharing the same space, instruments and each others’ capabilities during a residency at Vox-Ton studio in Berlin, they recorded 20 songs to mark the label's 10-year history. The 3-LP box set, produced by label curator Robert Raths, is released worldwide on Record Store Day, April 21st 2018.

Between August 2016 and 2017, each artist arrived with a new composition or an improvisation to record at Vox-Ton. Run with much love and care by Italian engineer Francesco Donadello — who has worked on many Erased Tapes recordings before including A Winged Victory For The Sullen, Michael Price and Lubomyr Melnyk — it is one of the few studios left where it’s still possible to record fully analogue, isolated from the city noise and in a room that can fit a large ensemble. Reflective of the communal spirit, 1+1=X is the result of an ambitious undertaking; to create a singular record as a collective, not just a compilation of songs.

“As much as Erased Tapes probably wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the digital age, we should also remind ourselves of what we are capable of without it,” says Raths. “1+1=X is a testament of what can be achieved when we work together as a collective, which is more than the sum of what we can achieve as individuals.”

A Winged Victory For The Sullen have shared the track Long May It Sustain from the box set, featuring Masayoshi Fujita on vibraphone and Anne Müller on cello.

“I suppose finding words and meaning to describe this release would be next to impossible. It was a real joy to go back to our humble beginnings, to have the freedom to create art only for ourselves was truly sublime” — Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie of A Winged Victory For The Sullen.